Until fairly recently, they were known to more dedicated flashlight nerds for a budget headlamp called the H03. It was nothing special, but it was $30 when comparable headlamps were $60; the downside was ordering from China and waiting a month.

They've gone more premium since and added distribution in the US through Amazon and Killzone Flashlights. They strike a good balance between being acceptable to mainstream buyers by including batteries and using magnetic charging, and being acceptable to enthusiasts by offering great LEDs and decent low modes. Europeans still have to order from China, but shipping time seems to be down to about 10 days.

The M150 was one of the first lights to do a good job with both AA and 14500 batteries. Most previous flashlights compatible with both had mode spacing problems on one or the other (usually 14500) and usually lacked low-voltage protection, making unprotected cells dangerous.

I'm a big fan of it. I have two Nitecore Tip SEs (One was lost for several months so I bought a replacement, eventually found the original), a Nitecore Tip (No SE), a Nitecore Tip 2 (Not pictured - keep it in the car), an Acebeam E70, and a Sofirn IF22A.

I liked the NC Tip, which was my first one - but the Tip SE is better than it in pretty much every way. USB-C, twice as bright,, and that's it.

The NC Tip 2, on the other hand, was a giant mistake - it's by far my least favorite of the bunch and it's in the car mostly so I don't have to look at it. My hate for it is mostly down to the obnoxiously long time you have to hold the button down for to turn it on.

Then the Acebeam and Sofirn are for when I ~~need~~ want something more powerful, for flooding and throwing respectively. I believe they were both recommendations from the arbitrary list at some point? I love both of them, only wish I could charge the E70 without removing the battery.

One thing I miss is having a zoomer. I know there aren't really any good ones, but... it was always nice being able to flood an area then zoom in on the part you actually care about with just one light.

Pic here: https://lemmy.world/post/352287

Emisar D2

And then Hank's semi-new EC1

I prefer the D2 of the smaller Hank lights, especially with the magnetic tailcap - however, the EC1 is definitely more of a keychain light than a pocket light.